Schools toilet policy

[WelshMoth]

Still getting messages that pupils can use the toilet of their choice.

In a 11-18 school (or any school), this isn’t lawful is it? We have allocated gender neutral toilets (quite rightly so) but the other toilets should be single sex shouldn’t they?

The toilets part is clearly illegal, and as others have said, it's crazy to have the students writing policy.

But I just wanted to highlight the complete batshittery of this: "we are being instructed to use pronouns of the pupils choice even if the parents aren’t aware, unless parents are present in which case, we revert to what’s officially on record."

So everyone has to go against their beliefs. People who don't believe in socially transing children have to lie and use the wrong-sex prounouns in front of the child. People who do believe in socially transing children have to use the correct-sex pronouns in front of the parents - which is probably also in front of the child, who will often be present.

(And isn't socially-transing children now frowned-upon anyway?)

Find out who "lead" the student body.
I can pretty much guarantee it will be either a member of the SLT that has bought in completely or a member of staff that runs the LGBT etc. clubs.
You need to be pushing on this through safeguarding and even deep diving into which students "wrote" the policy as the student body must reflect the whole and not be cherry picked.

But I just wanted to highlight the complete batshittery of this: "we are being instructed to use pronouns of the pupils choice even if the parents aren’t aware, unless parents are present in which case, we revert to what’s officially on record."

This is students telling the adults to lie to the student's parents.

The school should not be advocating that people in positions of trust tell lies.

The school should not be advocating that people in positions of trust lie to the people who have given them delegated authority to educate their children.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/guidance-on-promoting-british-values-in-schools-published

Publishing the guidance today, Lord Nash said:

A key part of our plan for education is to ensure children become valuable and fully rounded members of society who treat others with respect and tolerance, regardless of background.

We want every school to promote the basic British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs.

This ensures young people understand the importance of respect and leave school fully prepared for life in modern Britain.

Examples of the understanding and knowledge pupils are expected to learn include:

• an understanding of how citizens can influence decision-making through the democratic process
• an understanding that the freedom to hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law
• an acceptance that people having different faiths or beliefs to oneself (or having none) should be accepted and tolerated, and should not be the cause of prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour
• an understanding of the importance of identifying and combatting discrimination

What's your role here? Are you a teacher or a pupil or a parent? Are you on the Governors?

is the school an academy or local authority?

What is your standing to take this further?

If you feel it's unsafe career wise to point out the illegality, parental alienation and safeguarding breaching aspect of this nonsense OP, then suggest you leak it to the press. The Telegraph, Mail & Times are particularly hot on exposing institutions prioritising trans demands over their legal responsibilities to safeguard children - and as for lying to parents ....
If you'd like some names of journalists, just say.

I teach.
It’s a comprehensive school.

I should have added that it’s a state school. The SLT lead who I emailed my concerns to has not got back to me.

Are you prepared to take this further personally?

Or do you need to do something anonymously?

I’m prepared to pursue this. We had our rather large swingle sex toilets changed into unisex toilets after Covid (created riots, HUGE safeguarding concerns, intimidating for girls, concerning for larger and older boys and young men who didn't want to share these spaces with girls (some of them tiny and very nervous) and I had a right battle to change them back to single sex. This allowance (albeit a single sentence in a policy) just feels like a big fuck off to the law and to common sense and safeguarding.

I’m prepared to do this, yes.

Fantastic. Are you able to share the full text of the policy here please? Or link to it?

The school toilet policy needs to comply with the law.

Why is the school taking legal advice from teenagers?

This situation needs some adults to enter the room and take control, and you are an adult.

So they are choosing not to follow the recommendations in the Cass report either?

Fantastic.

Seems that way.

But again, when the Welsh government have ignored the Cass report and are blatantly ignoring the law, it empowers invidual schools/other services to follow suit.

I just don’t understand how they can get away with this when it is in breach of the law.

I’m nervous about doing this on a very public forum but that’s not to say that I will shy away from tackling it.

Completely fair, I just mean we could help with writing whatever official notice you need to write

Leaving aside the legalities and just commenting on the logic of their policy, if everyone is using the toilets of their choice, cis/afab/amab/trans is completely irrelevant, because they aren't asking people to choose toilets on any basis other than personal preference.

Have you chased up the SLT member? It may have just slipped their mind or not be a priority (wrongly!)

You could ask for a meeting and/or you could copy in the safeguarding lead when you chase up.